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49 Husbands, Wives Killed By Spouses In 15 Months As Domestic Violence Rises In Nigeria

The data showed that 35 women were killed by their husbands while wives killed their husbands on 14 different occasions.

At least 49 spouses reportedly died between January 2021 and March 2022, data compiled by Daily Trust has shown.
The data showed that 35 women were killed by their husbands while wives killed their husbands on 14 different occasions. 

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From the cases compiled, 39 deaths were related to domestic violence while six killed their spouses over allegations of infidelity. 
Other causes of homicide according to experts are mental disorders, ritual killing and forced marriages.
The latest incident that was greeted by uproar was the death of an Abuja-based gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu.
Her death reportedly followed marital ordeals as there were allegations of domestic violence being orchestrated by her husband.
Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, had on live television painted disturbing situations within the family when she visited the children Osinachi left behind.
Mr Ovye Yakubu allegedly killed his wife, Esther Aya, in the Sabonpegi-Shabu community of Lafia, Nasarawa State.
When he was arrested by operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command, a witness alleged that Yakubu killed his wife when an argument ensued over hiring a carpenter to fix one of the windows in their residence.
He said, “The deceased (Esther) had engaged the service of a carpenter to fix net in their windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house, but her husband stopped the carpenter.”
She reportedly resisted and her husband started beating her in the process.
She was said to have died from the injuries sustained when he descended on her.
Also, in January 2022, a 57-year-old man, Muhammed Alpha, was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife of over 20 years with a knife over the ownership of a door made from zinc, while Motunrayo Alaba also allegedly applied a hot-pressing iron on the chest of her husband, having recently returned on vacation overseas. 
The man also died from the injury.
Ramota Soliu also allegedly poured hot water on her husband in a case of domestic violence. 
Wisdom Joseph allegedly strangled his wife, Evelyn Alifiya, to death while Emmanuel Chigozie killed his pregnant wife over a minor disagreement.
At the centre of these killings are the children, who are left without both parents because while one rots in police custody, the other will be buried.
Osinachi left four children behind while the husband is still in custody pending when the court will make a final decision.
When Muhammed Alpha killed his wife, eight children became motherless. 
Three children were without a father when Mr Alaba was killed by his wife in Lagos.
More than 20 children were left behind by their parents who were victims of spousal killings in 15 months in Nigeria.
“Some children trained in abusive marriages grew up with psychological scars and trauma that shape their marriage view,” Said Abdullahi Usman, a psychologist.
“It affects their perception about life and life will never be the same for some of them,” he said.
Although there are no laws in Nigeria specifically enacted against domestic violence to be applicable throughout the Federation, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), passed in 2015 protects a wide range of violence against women, including domestic violence.
It prescribes a sentence of not more than five years in jail or an option of N100,000 fine for persons convicted of the offence of violence.
The Act defines ‘violence’ as “any act or attempted act, which causes or may cause any person physical, sexual, psychological, verbal, emotional and or economic harm, whether this occurs in peacetime or conflict situations.”
Also, Section 113 of the Criminal Code provides that, “A person is guilty of this offence if they unlawfully offer or attempt, with force or violence, to strike, beat, wound, or do bodily harm to, another.”
Nigeria is also a signatory to several international conventions on the violence against women such as the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 and ratified in 1985; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (domesticated); the African Protocol on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child (domesticated as the Child Rights Act); and the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, among others.


At least 49 spouses reportedly died between January 2021 and March 2022, data compiled by Daily Trust has shown.
The data showed that 35 women were killed by their husbands while wives killed their husbands on 14 different occasions. 
From the cases compiled, 39 deaths were related to domestic violence while six killed their spouses over allegations of infidelity. 
Other causes of homicide according to experts are mental disorders, ritual killing and forced marriages.
The latest incident that was greeted by uproar was the death of an Abuja-based gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu.
Her death reportedly followed marital ordeals as there were allegations of domestic violence being orchestrated by her husband.
Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, had on live television painted disturbing situations within the family when she visited the children Osinachi left behind.
Mr Ovye Yakubu allegedly killed his wife, Esther Aya, in the Sabonpegi-Shabu community of Lafia, Nasarawa State.
When he was arrested by operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command, a witness alleged that Yakubu killed his wife when an argument ensued over hiring a carpenter to fix one of the windows in their residence.
He said, “The deceased (Esther) had engaged the service of a carpenter to fix net in their windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house, but her husband stopped the carpenter.”
She reportedly resisted and her husband started beating her in the process.
She was said to have died from the injuries sustained when he descended on her.
Also, in January 2022, a 57-year-old man, Muhammed Alpha, was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife of over 20 years with a knife over the ownership of a door made from zinc, while Motunrayo Alaba also allegedly applied a hot-pressing iron on the chest of her husband, having recently returned on vacation overseas. 
The man also died from the injury.
Ramota Soliu also allegedly poured hot water on her husband in a case of domestic violence. 
Wisdom Joseph allegedly strangled his wife, Evelyn Alifiya, to death while Emmanuel Chigozie killed his pregnant wife over a minor disagreement.
At the centre of these killings are the children, who are left without both parents because while one rots in police custody, the other will be buried.
Osinachi left four children behind while the husband is still in custody pending when the court will make a final decision.
When Muhammed Alpha killed his wife, eight children became motherless. 
Three children were without a father when Mr Alaba was killed by his wife in Lagos.
More than 20 children were left behind by their parents who were victims of spousal killings in 15 months in Nigeria.
“Some children trained in abusive marriages grew up with psychological scars and trauma that shape their marriage view,” Said Abdullahi Usman, a psychologist.
“It affects their perception about life and life will never be the same for some of them,” he said.
Although there are no laws in Nigeria specifically enacted against domestic violence to be applicable throughout the Federation, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), passed in 2015 protects a wide range of violence against women, including domestic violence.
It prescribes a sentence of not more than five years in jail or an option of N100,000 fine for persons convicted of the offence of violence.
The Act defines ‘violence’ as “any act or attempted act, which causes or may cause any person physical, sexual, psychological, verbal, emotional and or economic harm, whether this occurs in peacetime or conflict situations.”
Also, Section 113 of the Criminal Code provides that, “A person is guilty of this offence if they unlawfully offer or attempt, with force or violence, to strike, beat, wound, or do bodily harm to, another.”
Nigeria is also a signatory to several international conventions on the violence against women such as the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 and ratified in 1985; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (domesticated); the African Protocol on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child (domesticated as the Child Rights Act); and the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, among others.